In June of 2018, the entire publishing world was thrown into chaos by #CockyGate. It was an absolute train wreck that was happening in slow motion. What started as one woman's horrible mistake (and lack of understanding of trademark law) blew up into a full-scale witch hunt.
Pitchforks were seized by the masses, and the mob was on the loose. No one was safe from this shit storm (and yes, I deliberately swore). I watched my social media feeds with my jaw open, waiting for the next author to be attacked. And the bullying took a long time to stop.
When the mess first started, I wrote about some of the social media lessons to be learnt from this whole #CockyGate mess. However, there were certain behaviors that I found deplorable and sickening in the extreme.
A Short Summary of #CockyGate
For those who don't know, #CockyGate was the result of one romance writer's trademark (TM) of the word cocky. I kid you not. Exactly how she managed to get a TM on such a common word is completely beyond me, but she did. However, it wasn't the TM itself that started this whole thing. It was actually a tweet which showed a screen capture of a cease-and-desist email that the TM owner sent to another author, demanding that she change the title of her books.
And off it went! Mob psychology took over and everyone was turning the TM owner into the Big Bad Wolf.
Days later, a retired lawyer, come writer, filed paperwork to request that the TM be overturned. Hail, the conquering hero. At least, that's how he was viewed by the writing community at large, but I will get to his actions in a moment.
I will gladly admit that I was among those who wanted the Cocky TM reverse (revoked, or whatever the term is). Cocky is such a common word; this whole thing was insane.
The TM owner tried to defend herself, which, in my opinion, she shouldn't have done, because she only made the situation worse. However, things didn't stop there.
A group put out an anthology, with 100% of the proceeds being donated to various advocacy funds for writers. (On a side note: I supported this particular anthology, gladly.)
Then Amazon was brought into the mess, forced to act by a TM in place. Romance Writers of America and Authors Guild were forced to step in to assist affected writers. And the owner of the TM at the heart of this mess decided to file a lawsuit against a fellow writer, a publicist, and the retired lawyer that filed that paperwork against the TM.
Eventually, the author in question surrendered her TMs and dropped the lawsuit, but not until there was a lot of damage left in #Cockygate's wake.
A rush on trademarks, and the bullies were out in force.
During this time, the number of TM applications for random words dramatically increased. It wasn't surprising, because writers were scared. However, the situation got completely out of control. Writers who had never thought of trademarking their series titles rushed to get the paperwork through, simply because of what was happening with #CockyGate. But the lynch mob also went on the hunt for the next person to tie to the stake.
Some of those TM applications were perfectly legit, yet the ones who made the applications were being lynched. I ask you: what is wrong with someone asking for a TM on STORMZY, or THE QUESTRISON SAGA, or WHONIVERSE? Those are clearly made-up words. (What's interesting is that if it hadn't been for #CockyGate, the writers involved likely wouldn't have bothered.)
I will grant you that the TM for the phrase DRAGON SLAYER needed to disappear. Dragon slayer is such a common trope within fantasy novels. A TM on this phrase would ruin so many writers before they even get their books published. However, the messages I saw on both Facebook and Twitter regarding this particular TM actually disgust me. It wasn't about trying to understand why the writer feels such a TM was necessary, but rather outrageous bullying remarks, being rude and derogatory. (And before anyone asks, I WILL NOT share links to such comments, because I found them to be so unacceptable, I don't want those comments anywhere near my feeds.)
I know of a few who were seriously considering applying for a TM of their own. My advice to them:
Wait, or you run the risk of being attacked too. Wait until we know exactly where the legal precedent sits with #CockyGate, then make a decision based on informed facts. Don't join the masses running scared, filing TM applications without thinking.
An automated system and a retired lawyer fueling the raging fires.
Shortly after the #CockyGate saga blew up, an automated account known as @CockyBot showed up on Twitter. This account reports any and all TMs that have been applied for with the US Patent and Trademark Office that might be related to the writing/publishing industry. While this might seem like a handy resource, it's this account that was actually fueling some of the heated emotions about various TMs.
And the person behind @CockyBot? One retired lawyer, come writer, who filed the original paperwork against the Cocky TM.
Now, before you go rushing off to continue singing the praises of said retired lawyer, come writer, let me fill you in on a few facts. Let me explain why I haven't once said what his name is (not that it's that hard to figure out with a little Google search).
Not only is the said retired lawyer, come writer, the brains behind @CockyBot, but he also advocate for writers everywhere to rush out and contest TMs, with little thought as to the legal ramifications — at least, that was how it appeared to me. While his feed was filled with explanations of legal jargon, trying to explain to the masses the finer points of TM laws (which is an action I admire), there was also tweet after tweet of cynical remarks about one or another of the TM applications that @CockyBot uncovered, encouraging the masses to go after the TM.
His follower numbers on Twitter skyrocketed. That in itself isn't a bad thing, but when you discover that he self-published a new book in the middle of all of this (a collection of short stories), motives started to look suspicious. Then you saw ads crop up about the first book in his science fiction series (published four years ago prior to #CockyGate), followed closely behind by ads for the other books in the same series. This was where the retired lawyer's actions actually turn me off.
I'm a fan of science fiction, and I was willing to give this guy's writing a go. Let's face it, if it hadn't been for #CockyGate, there was a high probability that I wouldn't have ever known that the guy existed. However, using something so heated and so negative to promote your books, continually adding fuel to keep that popularity fire burning hot, was...
I have so many words flying around in my head right now, trying to express my thoughts about this form of marketing, and none of them seem right. The whole situation just made me mad.
Before anyone attacks me for my opinions, let me remind you of a little known statistic of human behavior. For every one person that speaks out about something, there will be at least another ten who feel the same way, but have chosen to remain silent.
I'm not the only one who felt this way.
The bullying has to stop!
While #CockyGate was a disgusting mess, with some writers gaining popularity and others having their careers ruined, the real victim in all of this was the writing and publishing industry. I encountered so many new writers, talented and just starting out, who were watching this saga unfold and wondered if they really wanted to pursue a career in this industry.
The cattiness moved to an entirely new level. Those who were speaking out against the bullying were also being attacked, accused of not understanding the situation. Meanwhile, the bullying instigators were being hailed with praise.
No, this is not an exaggeration. Shortly after this whole mess started, I, myself, had tweeted out something to the effect of feeling sorry for the owner of the Cocky TM. I could see that this was a mistake made from not understanding the law, but I could also see the woman being attacked publicly for it. Granted, my opinion of her lowered after her drunken rampage on Facebook, but I still felt sorry for her. Yet, I too was attacked, because I supposedly didn't understand exactly how this one TM had impacted on the entire industry.
People, I'm not stupid. But unlike those who wish to just attack out of rage, I actually think through my actions on social media and the internet. I fully understand the power of words, and how words need to be precise to invoke the right reactions. Not only am I a writer, but I'm a freelance editor. And I have a solid understanding of what it takes to protect ourselves online, protecting not only our physical and internet security but also our reputations.
I'm learning all the time about copyright laws. I have a FULL understanding of what it takes to publish a book — both through traditional and self-publishing routes. And I am fully aware of how one ill-timed comment on social media could bring everything you have worked for crashing down around you.
But when an online community that is meant to be supportive starts turning on its own, scaring the new ones and making them question their choices... I don't care what side of the argument you are on with any of these TMs.
